"Open" Nipple - very painful!!

[JennyOwens]

Hi ladies,

I've been breastfeeding for three weeks now and apart from the normal minor(ish) pains you hear about I've been getting on ok....except for one boob...

Little one has such a strong suck that he seems to have split my nipple (about a cm round the nipple)and now ripped it open. The pain is incredible as everytime he feeds he pulls it open again. Its really beginning to spoil [alternative!] feeding times now as just the thought of the pain is putting me off.

My health visitor says that its not infected, thrush or mastitis... but I was wondering if anyone has had a similar problem and how they treated it or how fast it got better...

I really don't want to stop feeding but trying to relax so that the milk comes down at the same time is really tough...

Thanks ladies.

 

[vejables]

i also had this. i used lanolin on it, and just tried to bear it. (took quite a while to heal) but now all is good. keep up the good work!!!! I'd say it took about 2 weeks to heal completely but the pain got less in about a week.

 

[kookie]

i had the same and i too used lanolin it took a bit to heal but i put up with it coz i didnt want to give up,.

 

[lulu0504]

Have you tried shields while it heals? You pop these over the top and LO can feed through them

 

[beanie]

was about to suggest nipple shields, but use as little as possible as it can affect babies latch on - but as a temporary solution to give your breast a chance to heal it should be fine. If your other nipple is fibe then I would suggest just using the shield on the painful one.

 

[JennyOwens]

Thanks ladies - its good to know that I'm not alone and other mummies have survived this! I couldn't find anything about it on the internet.

I think I'll try carrying on - it is getting a bit less painful and I don't want to stop breastfeeding. My health visitor mentioned the shields but I think I'll leave them for now... give myself somewhere to go!!

Thanks again nipple buddies!